Bull Elk Poached In Park

Acting on a tip received from hunters outside the park, rangers and Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) game wardens recently conducted and completed an investigation into the illegal shooting of a bull elk inside park boundaries in the Nyack area of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.  Charges are pending. Rangers were contacted on the morning of November 12th by sportsmen who were legally hunting outside the park.  The reporting party said that he and another hunter had been observing a bull elk from across Nyack Creek when they heard a gunshot. They saw the bull recoil, then take a few steps and collapse on the boundary trail inside the park. The two hunters walked to the location where they believed the shot originated from and encountered a 16-year-old male within sight of the dead elk. Rangers contacted the boy later that morning and confiscated the elk. A joint investigation was conducted by park rangers and FWP wardens wherein the elk was transferred to FWP and the meat was donated to the Flathead food bank.